Many new sensor platforms, such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Vulture, are being developed. The Vulture is a high altitude, long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that may be used for surveillance. The sensor platforms may require electro-optic (EO) imaging sensors with very low mass and power requirements and may also have very constrained volume requirements (e.g., they may need to conform primarily to large planar wing surfaces). Conventional EO imaging sensors are unable to meet these constraints without severely limiting their capability (e.g., high resolution imagery capabilities). Space-based space surveillance (SBSS) satellites developed for space situational awareness missions may be too expensive to build and operate.
As a result, there is a need for a lower cost EO sensor that can still provide high resolution imagery. There is also a need for affordable EO sensor systems that can meet wide angle search requirements. These more affordable means may have reduced mass and volume, and use less power while still achieving moderate to large apertures.